Tensions Skyrocket

July 2006 | Ratings Update

South Korea is considering whether to suspend a round of inter-Korean ministerial talks scheduled for July 11-14 in the southern city of Busan. The South's president, Roh Moo Hyun, is under pressure at home and from abroad to take punitive steps towards the North after the July 4-5 missile tests. Overall, the tests, combined with the resurgence of the conservative opposition Grand National Party, will make it harder for Roh to pursue his conciliatory approach to Pyongyang. Roh's predecessor Kim Dae Jung had already cancelled a planned visit to the North even before the tests.

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